Helix Nebula

Folks,
I've been trying to see the Helix with a 120mm refractor and no luck under
mag 4.5 skies and Deep Sky filter.

Would a OIII or UHC do the job?

NS.

In article ,
Neal Shepard wrote:

Folks,
I've been trying to see the Helix with a 120mm refractor and no luck under
mag 4.5 skies and Deep Sky filter.

Would a OIII or UHC do the job?

NS.


I need a UHC filter on my 152mm refractor, from urban skies. Even then,
it is fairly faint. In an 18" with a UHC and dark skies, it's one of
the prettiest thing up there.......

Starry Skies,
Rich

I have just barely seen the Helix in 16x70 binoculars in my 4.5 backyard =
skies. (I've seen it many times with the 16x70 as well as 10x42 binos =
from darksky sites.) Through my 10" f/5 dob at a darksky site i prefer =
the view without a filter. I have a UHC. The Helix is fairly large but =
very low surface brightness. I usually detect it by slowly panning back =
and forth over the field.

-Florian
Palm Springs, Calif.

Florian stepped back from the eyepiece and screamed:

The Helix is fairly large but very low surface brightness. I usually detect
it by slowly panning back and forth over the field.


Correctimundo. I remember looking for it a long time and actually
having_parts_of it in the FOV without knowing it. For me, the trick is to
use averted vision while panning the scope back and forth. This is easier
said than done ;o)


Martin

It shows up well in my 11x80 binocs as a dim round patch. The central
hole doesn't really show. The panning back and forth suggestion is a
good one.
Marty

"Neal Shepard" wrote in message
...
Folks,
I've been trying to see the Helix with a 120mm refractor and no luck under
mag 4.5 skies and Deep Sky filter.

I saw it the other night with 8x42 binoculars at my light-polluted home
(NELM about 5.3). I've seen it many times with binoculars at dark-sky
sites.

It's *faint* and fairly large -- a lump in the sky.

Does it show up better in binoculars?
I didn't think it would be visible without filters in mag 5 skies.

Its gonna be clear so I'll try it.

Thanks,

NS

Does it show up better in binoculars?

From a dark site, it's easiest to spot in my 16x70mm binoculars.

-Florian

"Neal Shepard" wrote in message
...
Does it show up better in binoculars?
I didn't think it would be visible without filters in mag 5 skies.

Its gonna be clear so I'll try it.


You have to know what to look for. It does not look like a great big
doughnut. It's a totally shapeless patch where the sky background is
slightly lighter than elsewhere.

Does it show up better in binoculars?

For me it does. A wide field helps put more dark sky around it so that
you can see the contrast. Look for a patch of sky that isn't as dark as
the sky around it.
Marty